Unless you’re a teacher or make money from plowing and shoveling snow, you probably don’t get that excited when you hear that there’s going to be a huge snowstorm. The word snow typically means that the upcoming days are going to be a nightmare and involve a lot of stress. One of the more stressful things about snow is being a homeowner and having to deal with all that it can impact, like your HVAC System. To keep your stress at a minimum, we’d like to offer some tips for preparing your HVAC unit for a snowstorm.
Before the Snowstorm
- Get it maintained. If you haven’t had your system maintained yet, get it done now! The technician can also determine if there is something already not functioning properly and get it fixed before it stops altogether. No one wants to have no heat when there are feet of snow piled outside their house. Snow makes it hard for people to get around and with frigid temps, there are typically more repair calls so you never know when you may get the heat back.
- Consider a new system. If your system has constantly been breaking down and you know it’s time to get a new one, don’t wait until it’s too late. Snow is pretty much inevitable in the Frederick County, MD area so once again, you want to make sure that you have a working unit when temperatures are frigid and there are several inches or feet of snow.
- Fill your oil tank. If you have an oil tank for heating, make sure it’s full. As we stated, it’s hard to get around in the snow so they may not be able to supply you as soon as you run out leaving you without heat. If you let the fuel run out, you can have costly repairs.
During and After the Snowstorm
- Clear the exterior flues. When the snowstorm hits, it’s important to keep your flues clear both during and after. If you don’t keep the intake or exhaust clear, your system will shut down and you won’t have heat.
- Keep your heat pump clean. If snow is sitting on your heat pump, the system will shut down as well. You need to make sure that the top and around the system is cleaned off. If not, it could prevent the system from defrosting properly which will shorten the lifespan. Ice could also build up at the bottom causing it to freeze up.
